Signs of Madness
by Vampirycent
Summary: [KaRe] Kai and Rei are in their early twenties, yet still manage to squabble over a bookmark. AU. R&R.


**A/N** : Fluffy ficlet. Thanks to AnimeQueen48 for adding your bit, it's great. Also thanks to people who have done any beta-ing.

**Warning** : Shonen-ai, KaRe.

**Disclaimer** : I don't own Beyblade or any of the characters.

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Rei had meandered somewhat absent-mindedly into his bedroom and soon found himself splatted face-down on the bed. He stretched out and groaned into the pillow, his finger tips curling round the sides of the bed. It had been one of those days; the sort of day where nothing had gone wrong per se, but he just felt that crawling into bed and not waking up for many hours would be the best solution. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh as he felt his long black braid slip off the edge of the bed, pulling at the back of his head and making him uncomfortable. He kicked his legs against the soft duvet in frustration and mumbled incoherently while, unbeknownst to him, a tall figure leant against the doorframe, watching him with a smirk.

It was days like these that Kai just loved to wander around the house quietly while Rei thought he was in town. The bluenet had noticed Rei's deterioration throughout the day so knew it would be a perfect time to watch him reach the ultimate extremity of utter hopelessness. It was often that he was called a sadist because of his habits of watching Rei hit rock bottom, to which he would always reply "I only observe". The thing was, for Kai, he knew that if Rei ever was upset, he wouldn't only observe, though not everybody had come to realise the altruism of the bluenet where the younger was concerned.

Rei chewed on the blanket, groaned once again and, deciding that he was getting himself nowhere, heaved himself up from the bed – his braid was annoying him, anyway. "Stupid braid getting on my..." he muttered quietly, visibly irate, before jumping with a slight blush as he noticed his 'guest'. "Stalker," he tutted.

"Talking to yourself, they say, is the first sign of madness," the other replied, still smirking as he pushed himself upright and watched Rei with a contented eye – to see him in such a mood wasn't exactly rare anyway, so finding it amusing was somehow acceptable.

Rei rolled his eyes. "You'd know," he retorted, rearranging his bed to its former tidy state. He laid the pillow down and had just pulled out the final wrinkle in the duvet when Kai seated himself on it, laying back and resting against the wall. Rei twitched.

"Rumour has it you're a little irritable," Kai mentioned in an off-hand fashion, picking up the book that was resting on the bedside table and removing the bookmark before placing the book back where he had found it. He checked the page number so that Rei wouldn't be killing him later that evening, though made sure he kept it to himself for the time being, instead opting for slipping the fabric bookmark between his fingers. "I can't understand why." He stretched and wriggled slightly, messing up the bed further while inwardly laughing as Rei's eye twitched a second time. "Twitching as well," he stated, pushing a few strands of silvery blue hair from his deep pinkish red eyes. Rei wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. He watched Kai get up and head for the door, stopping to offer a rare smile. "Thanks for the bookmark. I'll give it back when I'm done. I just hate losing my page."

The door clicked shut, leaving Rei to ponder over his sanity and why it was still intact, if at all. Why had he chosen to live with Kai? Granted, he enjoyed living with the elder man, they had plenty of fun together and had remained close friends even after finding out about each others' weird and annoying habits – but Kai knew how to use those to his advantage, which occasionally made Rei regret his decision to accept the offer.

Kai always seemed to find one way or another to annoy him. His habit of leaving all the lights on annoyed Rei to no end, and was probably one of the only things that Kai didn't do completely on purpose to frustrate him. His other annoying habit was 'borrowing' things, which wouldn't be so bad if he actually needed to borrow them, or even if he put them back afterwards – neither of which were ever likely. Rei groaned, heading for the door in pursuit of the elder, not to mention the bookmark.

"Kai! Get back here with that!" he called after the bluenet as he swung the door open once again. After stamping his way down the stairs to let Kai know he was 'in for it', he sauntered moodily into the kitchen, shoulders hunched, arms folded, a glower set across his usually placid features. Although childish in his actions, they suited the way he felt when his eyes met the scene: there was Kai, sitting at the coffee table reading a book and tapping his bookmark off the top of the table. "Kai!" Rei whined. The corners of Kai's lips tilted upward into a smirk behind the book. "Ugh," Rei somewhat grunted in a mix of frustration and disapproval.

"You know," Kai spoke with unconcealed amusement, never taking his eyes off of his book. "Making random noises is yet another sign of abnormality. I think you'd better watch it, you may be going insane, Rei."

"You're insecure," Rei remarked rudely, before adding with a growl "and I'd watch _your_ sanity if I were you." He narrowed his eyes, before stretching his arm out toward Kai. "My bookmark?" he requested with a twitch, becoming more irate by the minute as Kai's smirk grew into a grin of twisted satisfaction. Rei knew that this would be over as soon as his bookmark was safe and sound in his book, on the right page. 'Kai _better_ have remembered the page number,' Rei thought sulkily.

Kai closed the book and turned his attention toward the other, his smirk now nowhere to be seen. "I'll swap it," Kai began seriously – too seriously for Rei's liking – "for a kiss," he suggested, still serious. Rei automatically blushed deeply. Was he serious, or was he just really good at acting? The younger man wasn't sure and inadvertently emitted a nervous laugh. "Fourth sign," Kai reminded him. "Nervous laughter."

Rei blinked. He wasn't serious. A part of Rei was relieved, he wasn't entirely sure what he would have done had Kai been serious, yet he couldn't deny the slight sinking feeling he experienced in the pit of his stomach – had he wanted Kai to be serious? Did he want to _kiss_ Kai?

While lost in his musings, he was again being watched by the elder with a raised brow. Kai tried not to sigh, it was times like these that he wished he kept his mouth shut. Offering a kiss in return for a bookmark was not only forward of him, but could also lead his closest friend to avoid him which wasn't good in general anyway, but especially since Rei was his housemate. 'Stupid,' Kai mentally reprimanded himself, 'why'd I say that?'

"Kai, I d – " Rei didn't get a chance to continue: Kai silenced him by simply raising his hand. The bluenet shook his head, this wasn't right. Something felt very strange, all of a sudden. It wasn't a joke anymore – his own signs of madness far outweighed those of Rei. Rei… _was_ his madness. Kai knew it, and he _wanted_ that kiss.

He stood with such vigour that even the chair upon which he was seated couldn't keep its balance and its wooden back landed with a 'clunk' on the tiled floor. "Rei," he breathed before striding forward and grasping the other man's face lightly between his palms, gazing into the confused golden eyes. Kai knew his own eyes looked exactly the same at that moment, caught up in unexplainable emotions. He swallowed hard, feeling Rei's warm breath against his cheek and closed his eyes, head facing the floor. He gently stroked the skin beneath his thumb and heard the other gulp down awkwardly just as he had done.

Rei didn't pull away. He was bound by the fear he had witnessed within the depths of deepest pink before they had closed. Kai was afraid he would leave, he could feel it in the caressing of the thumb against his face. Rei moved his hand from where it had been shocked into position by his side up to Kai's own hand and laid it on top. He leant forward and rested his head on the bluenet's shoulder as the elder took a step forward to embrace him, sliding his free hand round to the back of Rei's neck, clutching at his clothing. Rei closed his eyes while his other hand found Kai's waist and rested there, pulling him closer.

Each of them was a fusion of emotions, surrounded by a warm body and longing heart, each yearning for the other to be nearer. A soft touch to the base of his chin reminded Kai that he wasn't dreaming. "I want my bookmark back…" Rei whispered, pulling his head back so he was face-to-face with the bluenet. Kai smiled softly, a smile that Rei wasn't sure he'd ever seen before. Their lips touched and unfamiliar feelings governed their hearts and minds – Was this love, or was this just another sign of madness? Kai had come to a realisation that Rei was his security, and Rei had duly noted that Kai was his sanity.

Kai pulled back. "Page fifty-one," he spoke softly as he raised his head to meet Rei's gaze, his mouth once again curved upward into a smirk. He didn't doubt it, this _was_ insanity. This was love.

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End file.
